Opening statements begin in Springfield doctor's sexual assault trial

Opening statements began today in the trial of James Mauti, pictured here in this file photo.Patti Sapone/The Star-Ledger

ELIZABETH — Seconds after taking a sip of the clear liquid her doctor called a muscle relaxer, prosecutors said, the then-32-year-old woman felt immediate and increasing drowsiness.

"She trusted him and she drank it," Assistant Prosecutor Melissa Spagnoli told jurors today in the opening of the James Mauti trial in Elizabeth. "It turned her body into a state of jelly. It left her incapacitated for the next seven hours."

And in those seven hours, prosecutors say that Mauti, a Springfield doctor charged with first degree aggravated sexual assault and related charges attacked the young woman who lay face down on the patient table in his Springfield medical practice, sexually assaulting her multiple times.

The defense will argue over the next few weeks that the alleged November 25, 2006 assault never occurred. And that there's a simple explanation for the use of the liquid sedative later identified as Chloral hydrate— it was administered for medical purposes before an injection to treat her back pain.

Chloral hydrate is often used as a date rape drug, Spagnoli said, though it also has legal medical purposes.

Defense attorney Joseph Garrubbo said there were previous occasions when the woman had passed out after receiving injections and that the administration of chlorohydrate was to ease her anxiety.

"We're not talking about drops in your drink at a bar," Garrubbo said. "There was a legitimate purpose for having this." Garrubbo said that side effects of the drug include nightmares and hallucinations, urging jurors to judge the credibility of each witness in a case pegged almost entirely to witness testimony.

The woman went to doctors after contacting a crisis line two days after the alleged attack but there is no evidence of Mauti's semen or DNA on her, both attorneys said.

On the Saturday of the alleged attack the office, which is attached to Mauti's home, was closed to patients. Mauti's then-girlfriend, Jeanette, who worked as the office manager at the time was in and out of the office that day, according to court documents.

After learning of the woman's accusation, Jeanette removed three items from Mauti's home: the Palm Pilot the alleged victim says the doctor used to photograph her during the assault, the shorts the victim says she was wearing and a towel with the defendant's semen on it.

Jeanette Mauti is related to the alleged victim and the criminal proceedings have divided a family, Spagnoli said.

"Ask yourselves does it seem like she's making this up?" Spagnoli asked jurors today. "Does it seem like she has anything to gain from these accusations or does it seem like she's lost an awful lot, like she is a normal person who had someone do something very real and very bad to her?"